Exile

Matthew Henry comments: “Christ loathed the filthiness of Joshua’s garments, yet did not put him away, but put them away. Thus God by his grace does with those whom he chooses to be priests to himself; he parts between ...Read More

In one form or another, God’s people will suffer under the exilic conditions of pain and difficulty until Christ returns. The exile of the Jews from the Promised Land is ultimately a picture of the exile of all humanity ...Read More

Daniel’s prayer that God would not forget His promises of restoration is not based on the inherent goodness of the people but purely on the Lord’s mercy (Dan. 9:1–19). He asked God not to deal with ...Read More

The necessary response of a holy God to sin is wrath, not love. That means that the Lord’s choice to love His people is not the same as His choice to pour His wrath upon the impenitent. His choice ...Read More

First Peter 2:11 speaks of Christians as exiles in this world, for though we are citizens of the heavenly kingdom, we are right now living in a foreign land. Thus, Jeremiah’s words in today’s passage are instructive ...Read More

John Calvin also writes on this passage that “there is a great difference between these and God’s servants, who, when anything is commanded them, seek to render that obedience which they ought—all such are faithful servants.” Although all ...Read More

As God’s people were surrounded by their enemies, Israel and Judah often heard these nations asking, “Where is the LORD your God?” (Mic. 7:10a). Because these enemies conquered Canaan with little resistance, they thought Yahweh was absent from ...Read More

Restoration requires faith in the Lord, but we are not able to muster up in ourselves faith that will persevere to the end. We need an atonement that covers even our unbelief, and God must create in us new hearts ...Read More

Today’s passage reveals divine election, for Isaiah speaks of a people who are precious in God’s eyes (43:4). This is not due to any good in them, given that the people are still blind to their sin ...Read More

Christ Jesus our Lord is God’s agent of renewal, the one through whom the Spirit is poured out and whose work on the cross redeems creation. But we cannot benefit from this work, nor can we see Jesus as ...Read More

The final judgment in today’s chapter was predicted to come after the exile of Israel and Judah. We live on the other side of this exile, though the New Testament does not foresee it coming to its full and ...Read More

God’s grace to His people in the restoration is shown in two primary ways. First, He provides His Son to fulfill perfectly all the requirements needed for Him to restore all creation. Second, He elects a people to salvation ...Read More

When it comes to the “culture war,” American evangelicals often embrace
one of two extremes. On the one hand, they can give up trying to influence
society altogether. On the other, they might believe the nation will be saved
if ...Read More

Fundamentally, Christ saves us from the penalty and power of sin. Yet His
deliverance does not stop there. Our Savior also delights to make all things
new, empowering us to mend fences with others, bring joy where there was
once ...Read More

Even those who affirm justification by faith alone may act as if they need to
do more than trust Christ to be declared righteous. Some think that they
must trust Christ and go a certain number of days without sinning ...Read More